Cartridge.



J. D. PEDERSEN.

CARTRIDGE.

APPLIGATION FILED 00T.21, 1912.

3.@669525., Patente July 8,1913.

g [d'bP JOHN D. PDERSEN, or JAcKsoN, wYoMJNG.-

cAnrnInGE,

Specification of Letters IEIatent.-

Application filed October 2l, 1812. Serial No. 726,926.

To all 'whom it may concern.'`

. Be it known that I, JOHN D. PEDERSEN, a citizen of the United States,residing in Jackson, in the county of Uinta and State of Vyoming, haveinvented certainl new and useful Improvements in Cartridges, of whichthe following is a specification.

My present improvements relate to ammunition for small-arms, and morepart-icuvlarly to shot-cartridges for use in such firearms Lhavingstraight-bore barrels.

/One object of this invention is to secure a 4better pattern, or shotdistribution, at

v while in contact therewith.

' those shot pellets.

\ It vwill bey remembered that in Shotguns using shot-cartridges, it hasbeen the practice `to drive 'the shot out of the cartridge case directlyinto the bore of the gun-barrel. For the purpose-of preventing orreducing the spreading or scattering of the shot charge to a certainextent, and thus keep down the area and diameter of the pattern thepractice has lbeen to reduce the diameter of the bore near or at themuzzle of the barrel, this construction or reduced p0rtion of the borebeing known as the choke. The use of the choke bore has appeared to havethe effect of making the shot strike closer together on the target thanwould be the case if a straight or cylindrical bore were used. Thisaction, however, as I have found by extended investigation andexperiment, is not uniform in practice, but gives an uneven shotdistribution which is usually designated as patchy. The choke bore yalsotends to increase the'distortion or flattening out of those pellets ofshot which come in actual contact with the surface of the bore andchoke, and thus form, by the action of friction and pressure, a numberof small iiats on the surface of each of As a result of .these causes, Ihave found that at the usual targeting distances, (at the range of 40yards for lnstance) the shot charge scatters'` or. strings out to\ anundue extent, so that in a shot charge iired througlia choke boredbarrel, the leading shot in the charge are frequently as much as fortyor fifty'y feet in advance' of the rear pellets in the 'same charge,while many of the shot fall prematurely,-as may readily be observed byfiring horizontally at suitable elevations over the surface of stillwater, in a -well known manner. Furthermore, the choke-bore willevidently be variable in its action on shotcharges of dierentquantities, and also on charges of the same quantity or weight but madeup of shot of different sizes.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure1 is a side lview ,of a complete shot-cartridge made in accordance withmy present invention; this view shows the main shell, or powder-shell,S, having the usual extraction-rim, 2, and combined with a shot-case, C,detachably secured in or to the forward end of the main shell. Fig. 2 isa similar side View, drawn in alinement with Fig. l, for showing thecomplete shot-packet ready for insertion into a powder-shell. Fig. 3 isa View on an enlarged.scale-, showing a longitudinal sec tion through-the vshot-cartridge' illustrated in Fig. l; this view shows the severalcomponent members in position ready for tiring the cartridge, theslidable powder-wad, E,

being located with an annular space, B, forward thereof. Fig. 4 is asectional view corresponding to F ig. but showing the powder-wad, E,operating as a piston-meml ber and advanced a short distance from itsinitial position shown in Fig. 3; and showing the deformable head, II,of the shot-case, C,'as having had its central zone, al, driven forward(toward the right-hand,) by the initial action of the powder gasesacting through the member E; this member is here shown as 'an ordinarythree-part wad, comprising the disks or layers 3, 4, and 5, but thiscomposite form is not material. Fig. 5

is a face or plan view; and Figg an edge plained.

shot contained therein through the bore of. the gun and out into theopen air, and thereupon the shot-case while sealed at its front end,would travel through the air substantially as a solid projectile and, ofcourse, would noi` constitute nor be effective as proper ammunition fora shot gun.

It is, therefore, one of the objects of my invention to provide meansfor breaking such seal or shot wad, and thus release the,

shot-charge before the shot-packet leaves the bore of the gun. Foreffecting this object, I have illustrated in the drawing a preferredform of an organization of cartridge components or members, whereintheinitial force of the powder gases operates through certain of thosecomponent members to transmit force through the central portion or zone,as Z1, (see Fig. 7) of the shot-charge to the shot-wad D, for displacingthis wad or shot sealing-in member during the acceleration of theshot-packet and while this packet is still within the bore of the gunbarrel. The effect of these operations is, of course, to substantiallyeliminate or close up the annular space at B, Fig. 3, which is providedin the completed cartridge for the purpose of permitting the forwardmovement of the member E relatively to the shot-case C.

The position of the parts before firing the cartridge, is shown in Fig.3; and Fig. 4: shows their position immediately after the powder hasbeen ignited. In this latter view, the powder-wad E has been drivenforward a short distance in the powdercase or shell S, and by drivingforward the central zone al of the head H, has re-formed this Vshot-casehead and has thereby also driveu forwardly the mid-zone portion of theshot-pack, designated in a general way by P, in Figs. 3 and 4. The bodyportion of the 'shot-case, however, is yet held in the same relation tothe main cartridge case or shell S, b v the combined action of the frontend, b, of the shell S crimped into the annulargroove 8 of theshot-case, acting in conjunction with the inertia` of that portion ofthe shot charge situated adjacent to the outside of the shot-case, as inzone Z3, which portion of the shot charge is not directly nor verygreatlyI affected by the reforming 'been pushed forward just out of thefront end of the shot-case, and Yto have bent out the slight crimp atthe front end ofthe shot-case during its forward movement in this case.It is probable, I apprehend, that at this time the breakin up ordestruction of the shot-wad D is su stantially effected, and that thisbreaking up will be completed later on during the accelerating movementof the shot-charge within the bore of the gun. In the preferredarrangementv here described, the main shell or powder-case S, it will benoted (see Fig. 3), has a length greater than required for containingthe powder charge, as G, Fig. 3, and eXtends forwardly thereof forproviding the wadspace for the wad E; and then extends still fartherforward to provide the annular pis-,f ton-space B, and to provide .for'freceiving and locking with the rearward part of the casel C of the'shot-packet by means of the detentively-connecting and resistant butreleasable engagement at- 8, which should preferably be so adjusted byits construction as to delay the forward slidingvmovem'ent of theshot-case within the main-shell S, until after the reforming of the headH is begun.v The shot after being loaded into the case C, are readilyheld therein by some suitable shot-wad, as D, which I preferably make ofthin cardboard,-preferably of a crisp or fragile, yetrelatively rigidquality,-set into the open end of the case, and,

there held by', slightly crimping the edge, as at 9, FigsQ and 3, or by`other means, such, for instance, as suitab e cementation.l Theshot-'case is shown provided near its rear end with an annular groove,at `8, into which the front end, b, of the 'cartridge shell, S, iscrimped, this being one preferred method for detachably securing theshotcase C, into the cartridge shell S. In practice the groove at 8 mayusually be made relatively smaller than illustrated in the drawing. f

This' composite construction of the caru tridge hasvthe advantage ofpermitting the shell 'S to be very much shorter than could metal, sothat one may be highly tensioned while the other is softer or otherwisedifferently formed. That portion of the shot-case fozgvard of theannular groove or retentionfs L. S, will usually, or preferably, corre-`i spo'wi in diameter to gvthe outside of the main-shell S, while thatportion al of the incassa shot-case to the rear of said face or groove8,- correspends tothe inside diameter of the forward end of themain-shell S, so that when the shot-case is assembled with the shell S,the general diameter of the car- ,tridgemay be maintained; by this meansI provide for the properfitting of the carri'dges in a gun having-atruly .cylindrical ore.

By making the case C of metal of a readily expansible character, ascompared with the gas-pressure to be used, the operation of thecombination of elements may be so regulated that as the case C slidesout of the sheil S, the reduced cylindrical'portion d thereof, willbecome enlarged and so bring the entire length of this case to asubstant-ially` cylindrical form and diameter; this is indicated by theline e in Fig. 7 The rcduced portion al of the shot-packet being of aconsiderable length, as herein illustrated, provides for a slidingmovement of the case C within the shell S during the later stagesof thereformation of the head H, should this reforming operation not becompleted until after the separation of the retainerjoint, or resistantlock-joint at 8; but this lockingV together of the shell S with the caseC, should, in general, be relatively-rm in order to provide -the properinitial resistance, or such as may be required in addi` tion to theinertia of the shot-packet,-

For the purpose of illustrating approximate-ly the operation of head Hand lof the shot-pack- P, I have indicated in Fig. 7 this pack as beingdivided into concentric zones', comprising .the central zonel Z1, theintegrally-connected medial zone Z2, and outer, or peripheral portionAor zone; Z3, as indicated by dotted lines.A For comparison, the head His here shown in its initial ,positionv vby a`-`solid line and in itsreformed-position by a dotted llne. The concentric areas of the head Hwhich correspond to the shotpack4 zones Z1, Z2y and Z3, respectively,are designated by n1, n2 and n". As the head H should be formed ofstrong yet mobile material, it will `be evident 'that the forcibleadvance of the powder-wad E, (see Figs. 3 and 4) against the head zonenl, will operate to drive the head inwardly, with resultantchange ofform alg/out such as indicated in Figs. 4 and 7.A The initial slidingmovement of the powdrwad, begins. the reforming of theJ head forreducingl the space within the' shot-case, and then the further slidingmovement of said Wad continues such reforming operation 'duringthe-sliding for-f ward of the shot-ease in the main shell, provided, ofcourse, such reformation shall not in any given case be completed beforethe forward movement of the 'shot-case. shall have begun; and fr thispurpose, among others, I have shown the shot-case fitted within the mainshell andlslidable therein, the leztent of this sliding movementpreferably' being as much, or greater, than the annular space B, whichcorresponds to4 the distance f,

Fig. 7. When the pressure on the zone/ft1v begins to advance thiscentral zone,-the Shot in the medial zone Z2 are thereupon slightlyadvanced relatively to those in the outer zone Z3. This operation isnaturally. favored by the inert-ia of the mass of shot insaid peripheralportion or outer zone Z3, since this inertia operates against the outerzone n3 of the head H, until the wad E has advanced to the' position'indicated in 4Fig. 4, in which the head H is shown reformed for bearingfirmly on both its central and outer zone, 11,1 and n3, against the said-wad E. By' comparison of Figs. 3 and 4 with the diagrammatic lines' andpositions indicated in Fig. 7, the mode of action and the results ofthose peculiar operations will be evident'. When the slidable wad E,acting' as a powder-driven piston, has advanced against the shot-packetto the extent indicated in Fig. 4, the head H of such packet will becomeattfed or crushed to conforml with fthe shape lof the forward surface ofthat piston member. Usually, however, owing to the custom of makingpowder 'wads of slightly mobile and compressible material, the said wadE is likely to be itself somewhat modified in form by the pressure; anda small change of shape, such as might result` from such causes, isindicated in Fig.V

4 by the curvatureof the forward layer 5, and of the forward surface ofthe layer- 4 of the member E. On iiring the gun, the shot-charge, whilestill wholly or partially contained in the shot-case, moves up thev boreof the gun and outrinto the open air impelled by the expansion of thepowder gases, and during'this time the shot-wad, D,- -has been displacedfrom the shot-case (Fig. 4) and should be so broken up or otherwisedislodged that it does not prevent the shot from moving forwardly out ofthe shot-case C. When the driving action of the expanding powder gasesceases after the shot and shot-case have left the muzzle of the gun, theair resistance, filtering, as it were, backwardly through the spaces orintersticesbetween the shot pellets, appears to become compressed and tobe directed against the bottom of the shot-case and so tends to retardthis'case in its flight through the-air, this action being assisted bythe friction of the air on the exterior surface of the shot-case, aswell as by any suction in the rear of this now forwardly moving case. Asthe ,resistance of the shot-case in its Hight through the air is greaterthan the air resistance effective `against each individual shot pellet,it appears that each pellet of shot normally will move forwardrelatively to and `,out vof the shot-case, which .then will quicklybestopped by the air re sistance and fall to the ground not far from themuzzle of the gun, the shot continuing on their usual range.

During the passage of the shot-case with its contained charge throughthe gun-barrel, this case moves or slides forward in the boresubstantially as if it were an elongated cylindrical bullet, and soleaves the muzzle of the barrel while moving in a true and accurateline, and free of any forces or resistances which would tend to impairthe proper direction or path of movement of the shot. After leavin thebarrel, the shotcase is not subjecte to any breaking up or deformation,nor is it separated or dismembered in any way,4but continues on withoutchange of shape or structure, in its true line of movement until theshot-pack has gone forward out of the case. Thus I avoid anyinterference with the 'shot-pellets after these leave the barrel, by anykind of separation or breaking up destructive action upon a shot case.

As the shot-case C holds the shot charge together during its passage upthe bore and for a short distance after they together have left thebore, the individual pellets of shot the seal at the front end of thecase C. Also the distribution or scattering of the shot may be modifiedor 'regulated to some extent by suitably shaping the head H 'of theshotcase and thereby determining the relativel spa-ces within the case Cbefore and after the reformation of the head. This reduction of interiorspace-is indicated in F ig. 7,v

where the annular zone Z2 is shown projected slightly outside, at theright hand, of the end of the'case C, while the central zone Z1 isprojected farther outward, thus fully expelling' the shot-wad D', asindicated by the dotted lines, in this diagram.

- In practice, not only the displacement of the shot-wad, as D, isdesirable but also the destruction or breaking up thereof. This may beprovided for in any one of several ways, but for ordinary practice, Iprefer the form of shot-wad construction illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6.This construction should preferably be such that, while not materiallyimpairing the rigidity of the wad while this is holding the shot in thecase, the wad will, under the violent stress of the shot being pushedforward in the case. from or by the initial forward movement of thepowder-wad or member E, bo broken up into such fragments as will notseriously interfere with the flight of tho individual shot pellets afterthey have left the muzzle of the gun. If this shot-wad were to leave themuzzle of the gun while completely intact, the air resistance on thewad, this being of the usual disk-form, might tend to retard too greatlythe progress of some portion of the shot-charge or pack immediatelybehind the wad.

I The means which I have herein shown for effecting the destruction ofthe shot-wad is a sectional formation thereof, which is obtained bymaking therein one or more cuts or grooves (as l2, Figs. 5 and 6, andpreferably three or more in number) extending partially through thiswad, and preferably made in the inner surface thereof. These cuts orgrooves should be such as will not seriously affect the ability of thewadto properly hold the shot in the shot-case while the cartridge isbeing transported or while carried in the magazine of a gun, but such aswill aid and secure a suflicient breaking up or destruction of the wadon the violent thrust imparted to it by the shot moving forward incentral zone of the shotcase. Y Y

The shot-wad being expellable fiom the cylindrical part of the shot-caseby'ia comparatively small amount of forward movement in a portiononly ofthe shot-mick, the expulsion of the shot-wad begins immediately Y whenthe advancing .powder-wad drives forward the center zone, Z1, of thereformable head H,and thereby so initially reduces the amount of spacewithin the case C, as to begin or preliminarily inaugurate the advancemovement of the shot-pack, and the expulsion of the shot-wad prior tothe disengagement of the shot-case, which is thus effected by forcetransmitted through the shot-pack, this force beginning to be effectivewhile the resistant lock-joint is still unreleased, so that theresistance aorded by this releasable lock-joint which engages theforward end of the main-shell with the shot-shell, operates as a meanssupplemental to the inertia of the shot-packet for increasing theintensity of the reformative action exerted'on the head H during thetimethe powder-wad is advancing forwardly through the distance'oftheannular space B, which I have indicated approximately at f, Fig. 7.

In my improved shot-cartridge, the displacement or detachment ofthevshot-wad is accomplished, as to the brealing o r unsealing thereof,preliminarily to the ejection of the shot from the gun, and' notsubsequently thereto; and by this means the breaking or Ldetaching ofthe shot-wad is accomplished by the` initial force of 'the powder actinginstantly on the inauguration lcharges of the same weight, but havingdif-v of the forward movement of the powderwad, and thus I accomplish ina peculiarly direct, simple, and practical manner a result whichhitherto, as far. as I am aware, has not been known in this art.

Shotguns being usually patterned for a range offortyyards and with atarget cir- 'cle thirty inclies in diameter, the best. or

ideal pattern will of course, be one in which all the shot will becontained within that circle and be evenly distributed thereover. l/Viththe choke bored guns, however', the majority of the sho-t are frequentlyconcentrated near the center and only a few near the outside, andfrequently large spaces within lthe target circle are not ccvered atall; the latter is termed a patchy pattern. The beneficial controlafforded by my improved shot-case over the distribution of the shot willbe evident, since the shot will all leave the muzzle of the barrel in abunch or relatively close and cylindrically-shaped pack, and not bedivided into successive groups as is commonly the result with the chokebored gun. The form and proportion of the rear end or head H, of theshot-case affords means to so proportion the total number of shotcontained in each successive and concentric cylindrical zone 'of t-hepack, as Z1, Z2, Z3, Fig. 7, before the shot leave the shot-case, that anearly ideal distribution of the shot charge on the target may beobtained.

In practice, the shot-case may be made of any length suitable forholding the quantity of shot tobe used in one charge; and may also bemade of such thickness, character of material, and degree of resi-stanceto the deformation and re-formation of the head thereof, as may berequired for any particular range and kind of service. Thus shot-chargesof different weights, and

ferent sizes of sho-t, respectively, may be used equally well in thesame gun. Also, in manufacturing the'complete shot-cartridge, ashot-case of any suitable length or capacity 'may be combined with anygiven length of powder-shell, thus providing for the widest range ofservice conditions.

Having't-hus described my mventlon', I

in operative reshot-wad in the forward end of the shotshell, and aresistant but releasablelockjoint engaging the forward end of themainshell with the shot-shell, whereby on firing the cartridge, theinitial movement of the shot-case isresisted by said resistant lockjointfor increasing the initial effect of the advancing powder-wad on thereformable head, and thereby prior to the disengagement of theshot-case, beginning the expulsion .of the shot-wad by-force transmittedthrough the shot-pack within said shot-case.-

2. In a shot-cartridge, the combination with the cylindrical main-shelland with the powder-wad slidable therein, of a shot-case having acylindrical `forward portion eX- ternally coinciding in size with themainshell and forming an extension thereof, and having a rearwardportion fitting wit-hin the main-shell and slidable therein, and havinga rearward head comprising a portion which is reformable for reducingthe space within the shot-case, whereby the rcforming of said head may'be begun by the initial sliding movement of the said wad and thencontinued during the sliding forward of the shot-case in the main-shell.

3. In a shot-cartridge, the combination` with the cylindrical main-shelland with the powder-wad slidable therein, of a shot-case having acylindrical portion externally coinciding in size with the inside of themalnrearward head comprising a portion which is reformable for reduclngthe lspace within the shot-case, whereby the reforming of said head maybe begun by the initial sliding' i adapted to be driven forwardly priorto the expulsion of the shot-case from the powdershell, whereby toinaugurate the forward movement of the central part of a shot-packwithin said shot-case in advance of such movement of the outer portionof the shotpack.

5. In a shot-cartridge, the Jombmatmn Iwith the cylindrical main-shelland with the powder-wad slidabletherein, of a shotcase having -acylindrical forward portion forming an extension of the main-shell, andhaving a rearward portion fitting within the main-shell and slidabletherein, and having a rearward head comprising' a portion which isreformable by the initial forward movement of the powder-wad, and areleasable resistant engagement detent-ively-connecting shell andslidable therein, and having a the main-shell and the shot-case andhaving its resistance adjusted by the construction for delaying theforward sliding movement of the shot-case in the main-shell until afterthe reforming of the head is begun.

6. The herein-described improvement in shot-cases, which consists in atubular shell for holding the shot-pack and adapted at its open forwardend for receiving a sealing-in wad, and having -at and closing itsrearward end a reformable head in which the central portion thereof isforwardlymovable relatively to the rearward end of the tubular shell.

7. The herein-described improvement in shot-cases, which consists in ametallics tubular shell for holding the shot-pack and adapted at itsopen forward end for receiving a sealing-in wad, and having at andclosing its rearward end a thin metallic, reformable head in which thecentral portion thereof is located rearwardly of the rearward end of thetubular shell.

8. The herein-described improvementin shot-cases, which consists in ametallic tubular shell for holding the shot-pack and adapted at litsopen forward end for re- 'ceiving a sealing-in wad, and having at andclosing its rearward end, a reformable head in which the central zone nlthereof is located rearwardly of the rearward end of the tubular shell,nd having the medial annular reformable zone n2 integrally connectinglsaid zone n1 with the peripheral )ortion of said head, substantially asdescri ed.

9. A shot-case having at its forward end a shot-wad-engaging face andhaving at its rearward end a closed head comprising a reformable zonearranged for operating through shot within t-he case and therebyexpelling a case-closing shot-wad located yin the forward end of theshot-case. v

10. A shot-case comprising, in combination,"a tubular shell and arearward head therefor which has a forwardly Vmovable central zonesurrounded by a reformable integrally-connected zone, whereby toinitially reduce thel space within the shotcase and therebypreliminarily` inaugurate the advance movement of the central portion ofa shot-pack within case.

1l, A one-piece metallic shot-case, comprising, in combination, thecylindrical case having at'its forward end4 a shot-wad-engaging face andhaving at its rearward end a closed vhead comprising a central forwardlymovable zone, lthe peripheral zone relatively non-reformable, and themedial expel a case; closing shot-Wad located in v the forward end ofthe shot-case.

12. A one-piece-met-allic shot-case lfor use in metallic cartridgeshells, comprising, in combination, t-he cylindrical case having itsrearward portion of a reduced size, and at the forward end of suchreduced portion having a shell-engaging resistant face, as 8; and havingat its rearward end a closed head comprising a central forwardly-movablezone, the peripheral zone relatively non-reformable, and the medial andreformable zone integrally-connecting the central and peripheral zonesand arranged for operat-ing with the central zone through shot withinthe case and thereby expel a caseclosing shot-wad located in the forwardend of the shot-Case, substantially as described.

13. The combination in a shot-packet, of the cylindrical shot-case forcontaining the shot-pack, a shot-wad closing the forward.4

end of the cylindrical case and comprising adjoining relatively rigidareas connected by relatively breakable portions, and a closed head' forthe rearward end of said case comprising a reformable zone adapted to bedriven forward by a powder-wad, whereby to drive forwardly a portion ofthe shot in the shot-pack and thereby break the shot-wad in saidbreakable-portions, substantially asl described;

14. The combination in a shot-packet, of the cylindrical shot-case forcontaining the shot-pack, a shot-wad closing the forward end of thecylindrical case and comprising ladjoining relatively lrigid portionsseparated by channels in the inner surface thereof, and a closedreformable head for the rearward end of said case comprising a zoneadapted to be driven -forward by a powder-wad, whereby to displace andbreak the shot-wad by the initial movement of a powder-wad,substantially as described.

W. F. LAWRENCE,

